Thursday, March 30, 2023

The Monster's Bones (2022) David R. Randall

In 1905 a man named Barnum Brown changed the world.  He discovered the first fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.  Nothing in modern times had ever prepared humans to see a creature of this status and magnitude.  We didn't even know it existed, though other dinosaurs had been discovered by then.  It was colossal, stupendous and otherwise completely astounding to everyone who saw the skeleton once it was mounted in the American Museum in NYC.  This book is the story of how it all came about.

It is a brisk read, and the author manages to give out a lot of history without meandering too far away from the subject. There is a picture section, and I wish there had been more of them.  I reckon they are not easy to find in this day and age, though.  It is a rather fascinating story of an early paleontologist.  He even hung out with a Nazi spy for a time!  But he was probably just interested in bones.

I got my copy from Amazon.  Highly recommended.
 

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